Owner Gary Roberts (48) said the Cargills Corner business would close on Saturday, August 3.
He had informed staff about the closure last week and hoped all staff could be ''absorbed'' in other shops in the retail group, which includes fashion shops Private Label and Curve in Mosgiel and Eprende and French Floozie Boutique in Dunedin.
Staff were ''understanding but upset'', he said.
The state of the old South Dunedin premises was a reason for the decision, he said.
His ''flexible and obliging'' landlord had offered to demolish and rebuild the shop if a 10-year tenancy was signed, he said.
''I thought with all the other factors that was unwise.''
The other factors included fewer sales in the past two years and schools retailing their own uniforms, which had resulted in a fewer sales and less customer ''foot traffic'', he said.
He had investigated relocating but decided against a move because of the growth in online clothing sales, he said.
''We think sales in bricks and mortar retail are going to diminish as sales on the internet increase.''
And the recession was continuing in Dunedin, he said.
''Is it a blip or the new normal?''
It was the hardest time for the retail in the past 21 years he had managed the shop, he said.
When he bought the shop in 2003 it was a commercially viable business, he said.
''The world has changed very quickly in the last three or four years. When we came in to this, we never thought this situation would arise.''
He had not considered what he would do beyond closing the shop, he said.
''Closing down a store that has been around for 101 years is a massive deal. We've got a lot of stock. There will be a huge closing down sale.''
